How good are the New Orleans Saints? Well, going into the regular season, the word out of Las Vegas suggested they were among the top five teams in the NFL, one point inferior to the Patriots and Giants, and dead even with the Packers and 49ers.

MICHAEL DeMOCKER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNEWashington Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (91) sacks New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) for a 6 yard loss in the fourth quarter during the game between the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, September 9, 2012.

A week after losing at home to the Redskins, a team they were favored to defeat by a touchdown, the Saints, in the eyes of Las Vegas, are still among the same top five.

They were given a Power Rating that put them three points behind the Patriots, two points behind the 49ers and Giants, one point behind the Packers.

Now the Saints go on the road to face the Carolina Panthers as no more than a 2-point favorite.

What does that tell you?

It tells you a Carolina victory would be far less a surprise than last week's loss to the Redskins.

How the challenges change.

Last week it was: Can Drew Brees put more points on the board than Robert Griffin III?

This week: Can Brees out-score Cam Newton?

Last week the Saints were dealing with a quarterback many looked on as a "sensation in the making."

This week the Saints are in the ring with a talent trying to avoid the so-called "sophomore jinx."

Last season Cam Newman was a Rookie of the Year, passing for a record 4,051 yards, carrying the Panthers to a 6-10 record.

For a franchise that was 2-14 in 2010, 6-10 was Camelot.

"There's a sense in the air now that everybody is anticipating something great is going to happen,'' Newton said before the season. "There's also some people out there who think my rookie year was a fluke."

The man who snaps the ball to Newton is not one of them.

"Cam did a great job last year in a short time he had to prepare after the NFL lockout," center Ryan Kalil said. "We have tremendous expectations. We can clean up some of the things we didn't do well last year."

Had they handled the Redskins as Who Dats expected, had they forced a rookie quarterback into rookie mistakes, this week's story would have been how a team used a bounty scandal as a motivational tool.

Then you lay an egg.

Then the storylines are what they are at the moment:

Can the Saints win without Sean Payton?

Would Payton have allowed all those penalties?

Be patient, Who Dats.

Give Drew Brees time to turn an 0-1 record into a playoff season. He's done it before.

I'll say this. I doubt if Brees has ever faced so daunting a challenge. If the Saints cannot reassemble, if they lose to Carolina, they're looking at a 1-3 start, a win over lowly Kansas City, a loss at Green Bay.

A Las Vegas oddsmaker put it this way: "The Saints have proven they can win at home. To make the playoffs, they have to prove they can win on the road. Won't be easy. They'll have to win at Peyton Manning in Denver, at Philadelphia, at Oakland, at Atlanta, at the Giants, at Dallas. If they can do this, there's a good chance they'll be playing in New Orleans in February."